Green Mountain Power crews worked around the clock, restoring power to 32,400 customers after a wave of powerful thunderstorms swept across Vermont Saturday afternoon, July 23. Heavy winds blew down large trees onto power lines and cutting power across the state. Approximately, 1,800 customers in the areas around the Royalton and White River Districts sustained the most severe damage and remained without power, Monday. An army of crews worked to restore power to them as quickly and safely as possible, according to a news release Monday, July 25.
“We are intensely focused on restoring power to those who remain out in the Royalton and White River Junction area, working around the clock, with as many as 500 people in the field,” said Kristin Carlson, chief communications executive. “This was a very powerful and dangerous storm and crews continue to replace broken poles and string new lines, often working for many hours to restore power for a single customer.”
Crews prioritize storm restoration work, so that large numbers of customers are restored as quickly as possible. They are now focused on restoring power mostly to customers in more rural areas where damage was significant and repairs take many hours.
“While we wrap up restoration efforts, we are putting together plans to ensure we are well prepared with staff and contract crews to respond quickly to the storm that is predicted for tonight,” said Carlson, Monday. “No matter what Mother Nature throws at us, we will be ready.”
Green Mountain Power reminds the public to stay away from downed power lines and trees with power lines tangled in them as those lines could still be live. If you encounter a downed line, keep clear and call emergency responders immediately.
“We want the public to stay safe during these storms, so please keep clear of lines and report outages immediately,” Carlson added.
